With a new album to follow, Rackets are having a release party for their new single and video this Friday at the King’s Arms with Surf City, Las Tetas, and Raw Nerves.  So it seemed like a good time to look back over their previous releases and pick out a few gems. Not such an easy task when the band has managed a couple of releases per year, since they started back in 2010 (six in all, including their forthcoming album). But I thought I’d give it shot anyways…

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Reckon it’s worth starting at the beginning, with ‘Bed Sores’ from High Places (2010). This song is a survivor and still features in the band’s live sets. Everyone likes to sleep in, after all, so everyone can relate to it…

Back in the early days, all their tracks were super short and punchy, with guitar lines that skittered all over the place (chords? who needs them? etc). Though my favourite track on Friends (2010) is actually this odd little number, ‘Kids On TV,’ from the end of the album, which sounds like it’s based around a synth line. Guess they won’t be playing this one live any time soon…

Afraid I’ll also be picking another that has dropped off their current set lists, out of the numbers from Down With The Kids (2011). Although it’s tempting to draw your attention to the punky energy of ‘Colgate Kid,’ I couldn’t help wanting to give them a little credit for trying out a little glockenspiel to mix things up. Here’s ‘Goldie’…

Next up was the Rackets (2011) album, which was promoted by the successive release of six separate music videos for each single (we’ll save one for the end of this piece). In the meantime, have a listen to band leaning towards grunge on ‘Staple Guard’…

The band’s only release last year was a four song EP, Could Do Better (2012), which was an odd break in their work rate (after all, this is a band that doesn’t shy away from doing a 42 date tour of New Zealand). Fortunately, all four songs are killer and since it’s available for ‘pay what you want,’ I reckon you should do so. I couldn’t even restrict myself to picking one track from this release. The drums on ‘If I Was Good’ are too wild to pass up, but the lyrics of ‘End of An Age’ mean I couldn’t skip that either, so here’s both…

And now we have the new single, ‘Separator.’ It’s almost four minutes long, which is an eternity in terms of Rackets track lengths. Rumour has it that there’s one that reaches near seven on the forthcoming album. Practically prog territory! …

To round things up, here’s one of their most poppy moments (‘Pegasus’ off Rackets). They went all out on the video that time…

Sydney duo Jono Ma and Gabriel Winterfield – better know as Jagwar Ma – have been confirmed to play one New Zealand show at the Kings Arms on Wednesday August 7. Tickets are on sale 9am Thursday June 20 from Dash Tickets.

Here’s ‘The Throw’ from their debut album Howlin’ that was released earlier this year.

Following on from his appearance at the Laneway festival earlier this year, emerging Australian electronic producer Flume will head our way this October for three dates. Find the dates and venue info below – tickets are on sale 9am Thursday June 20 from Dash Tickets.

Wednesday 9 October – Logan Campbell Centre – Auckland
Friday 11 October – James Smith Basement – Wellington
Saturday 12 October – Union Hall (University of Otago) – Dunedin

Here’s ‘On Top’.

Promoters have announced the support acts for The Black Angels’ two New Zealand shows this week – Sunken Seas and Ghost Wave. Details below and tickets are still on sale now from Under The Radar and instore at Real Groovy, RPM and Slow Boat Records.

Wednesday June 19 – Bodega, Wellington w/ Sunken Seas
Thursday June 20 – Studio, Auckland w/ Ghost Wave

Here’s ‘Paid Your Price’ from Awesome Feeling 6.

With the news that her fourth album Matangi will be out sometime this spring, M.I.A. has just-debuted her latest single via Zane Lowe’s BBC Radio 1 show. It’s titled ‘Bring The Noize’ and you can take a listen below.

Great Sounds Great; Bad Sounds Bad is a column which sees a panel of writers for The Corner review a range of local singles and grade them out of 10. Check out the song below, read through their opinions and let us know in the comments section your own thoughts and what you’d like to see reviewed next time around.

[Soundcloud /iTunes]

[Grade: 6.3]

Alex Lyall: It’s not like I think about this or anything.. but this is how I imagine the soundtrack to a Frank Black outlaw movie to sound. Why? Because Andrews sounds especially Black Francis here, his yelps and his crusted throat shreds combine with a dynamic drum pattern, making for a very dangerous, yet triumphant listen. Though, the song drags a little, and the lyrics ramble. Vocals like these can’t stretch for too long, which is why Pixies’ tracks so often ran short. [7]

Luke Jacobs: The Veils have really been able to move through the years without moving into repeating their material and I feel this is due to the Finn Andrew’s constant pushing of his voice into realms where it is almost straining but he is still able to stay in control and work with that strain to create more emotion.

The song moves along at a fair clip and that makes for a good compelling listen which is something the Veils never seem to disappoint with. The drama that is always present in their material though is a little less evident here but through a careful listening to the lyrics you begin to understand the story and it shows there is quite a bit of thought in the songs construction. I don’t know if would have quite as much impact for casual listeners and that I think may hurt its chances of really making a splash like other material that Finn has produced. [6]

Elizabeth Beattie: This is a decent tune, but I feel like I’ve heard a lot of bands already do this… I think I would adore seeing this track live, but the recording just doesn’t evoke any emotion in me. The Veils have produced powerful songs and this tune is tidy, well mixed and displays good musicianship, but it’s just far too familiar. [4]

Michael Kerby: Finn thingee does his best Black Francis vocal impression. He’s quite good at it. If only he’d done a Black Francis songwriter impression too. [3]

Lauren Clark: This one time, some friends and I (looking at you, Joe) road-tripped down to see R.E.M. and Bright Eyes in New Plymouth and ended up watching Finn Andrews play in some dingy polytech common room; this song reminds me a little of that random, wild, stormy weekend. And while Andrews comes across as the kind of guy who’d take great offense to the comparison, this immediately brings to mind Fevers and Mirrors-era Bright Eyes, all hyper-expressive and heavy on the klezmer. In fact, The Veils really are just a Bright Eyes / Nick Cave / Tom Waits / Pixies amalgam, which leaves me kind of conflicted, because I love Bright Eyes (shut up) and the Pixies, but I’ve never been drawn to Nick Cave or Tom Waits.

Consequently, I suppose, I’m on the fence with this band. Back in the day I adored The Runaway Found, but from that point forward it’s just felt too aloof, maybe? Too serious. Anyway, nothing has piqued my interest. But while this is not 100% to my liking, I think it’s a fantastic track. It’s thematically cohesive and incredibly artful, chaotic but contained. Not unlike a tornado I suppose. To add to that, the galloping drums and the main guitar riff feel like American West cliches, which is appropriate and really clever. I love the rolling atonality of the guitar in the chorus and I don’t even mind the Nick Cave vocals (truthfully, I like musicians who sing like they’re being strangled – it must be the emo kid in me). On the whole it feels like the musical equivalent of American Gothic. I might be wrong, but I feel like they’ve successfully presented this spatially and historically specific mood, like all good art should, and I can’t help but give this a 10 for that, regardless of how I feel about it. [10]

Vincent Michaelsen: This is a really solid track – I can’t argue with that, so that’s why it gets a high score, which I think it deserves. But that said, I’m not a big Veils fan. Finn Andrews’ quivering and tortured vocals don’t do it for me, and as a big Nick Cave fan, Andrews’ manic delivery and lyrics like “Annie has them tombstone teeth and a stare so warm it can melt the snow” seem equivalent to fan fiction. [8]

Following the success of ‘Royals’, Lorde has just debuted at number one song on the NZ Top 40 singles chart with ‘Tennis Court’. It’s an achievement that sees her become the first local female solo act to ever have two number one songs, and she also becomes the first local act with a total of four songs in the top 40 chart at the same time – ‘Tennis Court’ (1), ‘Swingin’ Party’ (10), ‘Royals’ (11), ‘The Love Club’ (18).

View the complete NZ top 40 chart here.

Following on from last year’s Could Do Better EP, here’s some new music from Rackets – ‘Separator’ and b-side ‘Machete’. Take a listen below and head to Bandcamp for the download.

Glass shatters and plates are thrown. With this we are thrown into Queens of the Stone Age’s sixth album …Like Clockwork. This introduction couldn’t be more ill suited. In 2004 front man Josh Homme fired bassist/rageaholic Nick Oliveri from the group after what was a 4-year blast for the group; two seminal albums and a world tour, the globe had never known mainstream rock like ‘nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol’ and ‘CCCCCOCAINE!!’ Oliveri left and so did the danger, the very element that kept me from playing Rated R on the stereo while my parents were in the room. 2005’s Lullabies to Paralyze bore the brunt of a half-arsed Homme , things picked up on the perverted 2007 hit ‘Make It Wit Chu’ but the impact was all but gone. QOTSA’s hiatus began on a whisper, not an explosion. So how does Homme intend on regaining his title of queen of the Stone Age (the Elizabeth of stoner rock) in 2013? He gets out his sexy, packs his bad-arse and heads for the studio.

The damp ‘Keep Your Eyes Peeled’ opens the album. The bass thumps and the keys chime before Homme lifts his voice – ‘if life is but a dream, then wake me up’. It’s cold and hypnotising. Keep your eyes peeled? How can we not? ‘I Sat By the Ocean’ recalls the wow that was so enjoyed on 1998’s self-titled debut. Homme has always had an unconventional sex symbol. The pace slows down with ‘The Vampyre of Time and Memory’. Speed is traded for theme and Homme sings the plight of a man unloved and lonely. Unfortunately, the track does little to keep the listener attentive and the ballad finishes before any real emotional breakthrough is made. An attempt at the same thing is tried on ‘Kalopsia’, a delicate piano influenced dream. But the chorus stands out, a disturbed Homme shrieks and guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen splits ears with his cutting riffs.

The build up to …Like Clockwork was exactly that, like clockwork. Nearly every week a new collaborator would be announced. Dave Grohl , Mark Lanegen, Trent Reznor etc. Elton John wasn’t that surprising; he had worked with Alice In Chains on their 2009 comeback. But with such a delicacy of musicians it was difficult to predict how they would sound. Would Dave Grohl return them to their hard-rocking heyday or would Sir Elton turn them in another direction entirely? The presence of guests brings both. ‘My God is the Sun’ is an absolute classic. Homme ‘whoos’ and Grohl destroys. Elsewhere, Sir Elton sprinkles his trademark piano over ‘Fairweather Friends’ to satisfying affect. ‘I Appear Missing’ is a bombastic dystopia. Bombastic in length, dystopian in feel. In parts Homme’s voice doubles, as if desperate to be found. He is; the doctors brought him back to life in 2010.

The most interesting guest on this remarkable album is Nick Oliveri. Not through musical ability but through appearance. What’s interesting is he doesn’t scream or get a song to himself, he whispers. Homme brings him back to show the world that even with Oliveri there, it is Homme making QOTSA’s most spectacular album since Songs For The Deaf. Fans – Josh is back! Honey I’m Homme indeed.

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As part of Social Media Club’s ongoing series of events, this Wednesday they will be hosting a panel discussion called “Tweet to the Beat – When Music and Social Media Collide”. According to the event description, it will focus on how “Social media and the online world has affected not only the way we consume music but the entire record industry. #SMCAKL June explores these significant industry changes from all angles of the record player”. The panel includes Zowie, Dean Campbell, Scott McLauchlan, Fiona Perry, Paul McLaney and you can RSVP by following this link.

Tweet to the Beat – When Music and Social Media Collide
Wednesday June 19 – 6pm-8pm
Vodafone Building, 20 Viaduct Harbour Ave, Auckland